Hey You !

It was homecoming she was dreading- coming back to a silent house with the sound of strange footfalls. Memories echoing the laughter in the head and the voices that were happy not -so -long ago ! Was is right to open the Pandora's Box...maybe at times it is better to let secrets be......

This year Poojo happened later than usual , so you could feel the nip late at night and in the early mornings. Though I really did not see the early mornings after the late nights .... Till about last year we had three late night groups at our "Mainak" Poojo pandal - Baba and his friends playing cards and arguing away to glory, Chibu and his group of friends and us the middle-aged and the middle path types.  Its nice to see that our children feel  the same bond that we used to have for Poojo. They get together for the "Chanda"collection (and merrily take part  in the argument that follows over the contributions  ) and the "Thakur ana" and the decorations and "natok " rehearsals and  "bhog poribeshon ". I am at times amazed to see even Chibu behaving in a socially responsible manner.  And for me those are the days that I go back to my home, my room- feel young once again as our almost- pushing -50-girl gang giggles and gossips and end...

Coming back to the vegetarian festival is always interesting! You see Phuket in a new light! The island looks pretty with it's festoons and yellow flags. The temples come alive with chants and incantations , fireworks  trances and body piercings ...so much of activities topped by the camouflaged Tofus on an overdrive ! Cannot complain really - found my dragon pants and dragon "dugdugi " as my carry home memorabilia :) The trance reminded me so much of the "Shitala thakurer bhor hoya " during the Choroker mela when I was young . There was this lady dressed in perfectly shocking pink outfit giving out shocking pink blessed bands! I was a lucky receiver :) Of course the  atmosphere was charged with fervor and devotion,  but I was left wondering if the trance is at all real . But the fun lies in soaking in the festivities, sampling the food that looks deliciously non vegetarian , but tastes oh-so-bland in the end ..and laughing over the ...

The sea and it's many moods never ceases to fascinate me . It reminds me of a lover -passionate and raging at times and soothing and tranquil at other times... There are grey days and sunny days ......bright days and days when it's washed by the rains. It can be caressing and cruel ..loving and giving , yet having the Othellian tendency of taking away the lives of those whom he loves......... I guess the perception of relationship changes with people... Niall thought the sea to be like Truda's lap wide and comforting .To some it's probably the mother provider ... Reminds me of a poem I used to teach.... Coromandel Fishers Rise, brothers, rise; the wakening skies pray to the morning light, The wind lies asleep in the arms of the dawn like a child that has cried all night. Come, let us gather our nets from the shore and set our catamarans free, To capture the leaping wealth of the tide, for we are the kings of the sea! No longer delay, let us hasten away in...